Developers and affordable housing activists united Monday to ask the Pasadena City Council not to approve an ordinance that would temporarily limit the height of new residential buildings in the city.

The Council listened to their concerns and ultimately decided to wait to take action until members could learn more about what Councilman Victor Gordo called the potential “unintended consequences” of the rule. But Mayor Terry Tornek said he expects the council to approve such an ordinance in the near future.

Overall, 15 people spoke against the idea, while three people said they support it.

The rule at issue was presented to Council in an attempt to allay concerns that Pasadena is on the road to becoming overdeveloped. City staff gave council members three options, all of which were temporary measures — lasting no longer than two years — to reduce the height of new residential buildings while the city determines a longer-term way to address the issue. The recommended choice was to restrict those buildings to be no taller than ten feet above the block’s average building height, or the maximum height in the zoning code, whichever is lower.

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One of those who advocated against the ordinance was local resident Anthony Manousos, who said he worried the city was rushing into something that could potentially have a detrimental impact on Pasadena’s affordable housing stock.

“I don’t hear, in this discussion, that we really know what the impact will be on affordable housing and on the low-income members of our city,” he said. “I think we need more time to really study this, so we can be sure that we aren’t actually — in the name of aesthetics — doing something that would violate the ethics of our city.”

But Phil Hosp, vice president of the Madison Heights Neighborhood Association, said putting this type of limit on new developments might actually help lower-income residents by curbing new luxury buildings. For that reason, as well as to preserve the city’s character, he said he and his organization support the ordinance.

“We would argue that it’s actually beneficial for a diverse and an inclusive neighborhood to make sure these buildings are preserved, and luxury condos with six units, or whatever, are not replacing them,” he said. “It does not make any sense to lose more units than you gain.”

Developers also threw in their opinions. Many said they agreed with activists who are concerned about impacts on affordable housing, but they also worried about what it would mean for projects that are already in the works.

Jim Anderson, senior vice president of Dallas-based Trammell Crow — which has been laying the groundwork for a project at 3200 East Foothill Blvd. for the past 10 years — said he hoped the council could find a way to exempt plans already underway.

“The project meets many of the city’s key goals, including 69 affordable on-site housing units,” he said. “We feel this project fits Pasadena extremely well. We’d hate for an interim ordinance to come and derail a project we’ve been working on for so long.”

Ultimately, council members were divided on the issue but agreed to decide the matter at a later date.

Gordo said he was largely unpersuaded by the arguments against the measure.

“Most of the condos that are being constructed are pretty high-end condos and pretty high-end rental housing, and so I’m not making the connection when affordable housing activists say to us, ‘You know, you’re going to alter affordable housing,’ ” he said.

But he agreed there needs to be more clarity on what potential impacts the rule would have before he could pass it.

For Tornek’s part, he said it’s just unrealistic to expect Pasadena to allow for unlimited growth.

“The statement that we can never have enough density, in view of the statewide housing crisis, that Pasadena could never have enough density or enough new construction, is just at odds with what I believe is in the best interests of the city,” he said. “This will come back to the council, and I’m confident that the Council will act on it.”

Hayley Munguia covers Long Beach City Hall for the Southern California News Group. She previously worked as a data reporter for FiveThirtyEight and has written for The Week, the Jerusalem Post and the Austin American-Statesman, among other publications. She's originally from Austin, graduated from NYU and will pet a dog any chance she gets.